Little Sisters Need Love Too
by autumnrose2010
Summary: AH. Rose's younger sister, Lily, is living with Rose and Dimitri while attending college. One night she meets a young man who takes her breath away. He whisks her away to England to meet his family. But what dark secret are they hiding?
1. The Oboe Player

I slouched in my seat and stared at the ceiling, wondering how much longer this concert was going to last. Just because my brother-in-law, Dimitri Belikov, liked classical music, he and my older sister Rose were forever dragging me to concerts. I went along just to be polite, although I'd much rather be home watching TV.

Suddenly I saw him. He was of slight stature, with longish blond hair parted on one side and combed back and clear blue eyes. He saw me looking at him, and one eyebrow went up inquisitively. The way he did it just made my heart melt.

I nudged Rose. "That blond guy playing the flute is really cute!" I whispered.

"That's not a flute, silly," she whispered back. "It's an oboe."

Whatever it was, I was determined to meet Cute Blond Guy in person as soon as possible. I saw my chance right after the concert had ended. I sneaked away from Rose and Dimitri and hid right outside the exit from which the band members would emerge.

At last he was there. "I really enjoyed your performance," I told him. "By the way, my name's Lily Hathaway."

"It's lovely to meet you, Lily Hathaway. I'm James Vesey." Damn, he even had a British accent!

"I've always loved classical music, and I've been wanting to learn to play the oboe for a long time." We'd naturally fallen into step together.

"Is that so?" He smiled the most charming smile I'd ever seen. "I suppose that in my case, it runs in the family, as my father was an orchestra conductor."

"Really? Who is he? Maybe I've heard of him!"

"His name was Sir Alexander Vesey, but I hardly remember him. He and my mother were killed in an airplane crash when my sister and I were only four years old."

"That's terrible!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" I felt incredibly awkward. I'd known James for maybe about five minutes at the most, and I'd already brought back painful memories for him.

"It's all right," he told me. "My half-sister Emily and her husband Boris raised us well."

"I live with my sister too," I told him. "I'm in coll...university, I mean, and..."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to be going," he said apologetically. "My band mates will be wondering what happened to me. I would really like to talk to you again sometime. Have you a number at which you can be reached?"

I gave him both my telephone number and my email address, then ran off to find Rose and Dimitri.

"Just where the hell have you been?" Rose shrieked at me when she saw me. "We've looked all over for you!"

"I just went to say hello to that cute blond guy who plays the oboe," I said. "I was only gone for a few minutes!"

"Like hell you were," Rose muttered. "Thanks a lot for scaring the shit out of us!"

"I'm eighteen years old!" I protested. "Quit treating me like a fucking baby!"

Rose only glared at me in return, but Dimitri grinned and winked at me.


	2. Le Chateau

We returned to the two-bedroom apartment near the college campus that we shared. Dimitri was an instructor at the college, and Rose worked as a nurse at the university clinic, so it made sense for us to live so close. Our parents lived about a forty-five minute drive away, which was why I moved in with Dimitri and Rose when I started my freshman year. It was the perfect solution. Rose tended to be kind of bossy sometimes, but we usually got along OK.

When we got home, I went to my room right away and put my nightgown on. I had the smaller of the two bedrooms, but I didn't mind that. After all, there were two of them and only one of me.

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. I just couldn't get James' gorgeous blue eyes out of my mind. Nor how very British he sounded, and that cute little way he had of hiking one eyebrow in interest...I got so hot and bothered that I almost couldn't stand it.

He called me the very next day. It was after lunch and I was watching TV and dozing when Rose told me that I had a telephone call.

I recognized his voice as soon as I heard it. "Lily? James here." He sounded so formal, so...dignified. Exactly the way I'd imagine an oboe player in a British orchestra to sound.

"Hi!" I said.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"Uh...no, not really." I was trying very hard not to sound too eager.

"Could you meet me at Le Chateau at seven tonight? This is our last night here, and I'd like to meet you properly before we leave tomorrow morning."

My heart was beating so fast that it felt as if it were about to pound right out of my chest. Le Chateau was only the fanciest, and most expensive, restaurant in town. I'd never been there before, and I wasn't even sure if I had clothes that were nice enough to wear there.

"I'll be there!" I told James without even giving it a second thought.

"Good. I'll see you there, then."

"That was James," I told Rose after I hung up. "He wants me to meet him at seven o'clock at Le Chateau!"

"Le Chateau? Well, la-di-da!" I heard the slight envy in Rose's voice and it made me feel happy.

After much rummaging, I finally found a slinky little black dress, black tights, and black heels that I thought would do.

Dimitri whistled when he saw me. "Wow, Lily, you look really hot! Doesn't she, Rose?"

"She sure does!" my sister agreed. "You go, girl!"

Smiling happily, I left to meet James. He was already there when I arrived, looking even more breathtaking than he had the night before. He was dressed in pleated black slacks and a pin-striped shirt with the top button undone. When he saw me, he stood and pulled my chair out for me. I smiled and thanked him.

"So, what are you studying at uni?" he asked me.

"Psychology," I told him.

"Interesting." I couldn't tell whether he really thought so or was just being polite.

"So, have you always wanted to play the oboe?" I asked him.

"I've been taking lessons since I was four. Mary and I both have. She plays the violin."

"For the same orchestra?"

"Of course! The one my father was conductor of."

"What did your Mom do?"

"I suppose you could say she was one of his groupies." He laughed. "He was twenty-five years older than she was."

"Twenty-five years? My _God!" _I almost choked on my drink. He laughed heartily.

"She was his third wife. They met at a party given in his honor. He was still grieving over the loss of his second wife, but she made him happy again." James sighed. "For the brief amount of time they had together."

I felt awkward, as I'd never lost anyone close before. "They must have really loved each other."

"Emily has always told me they were inseparable."

"She must have been from your Dad's first marriage."

"Actually, she was from his second. His first marriage didn't last very long. She was mentally unstable. My half brother Kit was from that marriage." James chuckled. "He's actually slightly older than my Mum was."

"So how many brothers and sisters do you have in all?"

"Let's see..." He began to count them off on his fingers. "There's Kit from my Dad and Helena, Emily, Leo, and Harriet from my Dad and Ruth, and just me and Mary from my Mum. How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"There's just me and Rose. I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother, although I do have a brother-in-law now. His name's Dimitri."

"Dimitri? That sounds Russian."

"He's originally from Baia in Siberia."

"What do your parents do?"

"My Dad owns a general store. My Mom works there."

"So have you always lived around here?"

"Yeah. Kind of boring, huh?"

"My family have always lived in the same little town in England. Mary and I didn't really start traveling until we joined the orchestra several years ago."

Assuming he'd finished university first, that would put him in about his mid twenties at the youngest. Would he consider eighteen to be too young for him? What would I say if he asked me how old I was? "You two must be very close."

"We're twins," he said, as if that explained everything. "My Mum was American."

"That's cool."

We finished our meal, and he asked me if I wanted to dance. He was an excellent dancer. I dreaded having to say good-bye to him, especially knowing that I might never see him again.

When we were finished, he walked me back to my car. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Lily," he told me. "I'll be in touch."

I wondered whether or not he was going to kiss me good-bye. He didn't.


	3. Skeletons In The Closet

After our romantic evening at Le Chateau, I didn't hear from James at all for a really long time. I was sure he'd forgotten about me when one day Dimitri told me I had a long distance telephone call.

"James here," he said in his oh-so-dignified manner.

"I don't believe it!" I exclaimed. "I thought I'd never hear from you again!"

"Sorry to take so long to get back to you," he replied. "We've been on tour and only recently returned home. So, have you been well?"

"I've been all right." In truth, my life had been half boredom, half bedlam. Rose had given me the third degree when she'd learned that James was six years older than me. I reminded her that there was the same difference between hers and Dimitri's ages, but she'd ignored me.

"You're so young and innocent, Lily," she'd told me. "James is a traveling musician. I'll bet he probably has a girl at every stop along the way. I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

"I'm a big girl, Rose. I can look out for myself," I told her.

She only frowned and shook her head.

"How have you been?" I asked James, returning to the moment at hand.

"Very, very busy." He laughed. "It's great to be home again. We missed our family. We've always been very close."

"We?"

"Mary and I."

Of course! I'd forgotten that he was a twin.

"So are you home to stay now?"

"For a few days. We've got another tour scheduled for before the holidays, but it's only a local one." He paused for a moment. "I expect you'll be busy at uni over the next few weeks."

"We get out for Thanksgiving break, but that's only four days."

"Thanksgiving? Ah, yes. Late November, correct?"

"Right." I wanted to kick myself. Of _course _he wouldn't be terribly familiar with Thanksgiving...

"Are you on Facebook?"

"Of course!"

"I'll add you. Also, you could like the the orchestra's page, if you want. It has all our tour dates and other important information." He hesitated. "There are some photos of me and Mary on there as well," he added, somewhat shyly.

Suddenly I couldn't wait to get to my computer.

We talked for awhile longer, and then he said good-bye, promising to be in touch again soon. Right away I turned my computer on and went to Facebook, eager to see the photos James had told me about. I saw that he'd already sent me a friend request. _Wow, that was fast, _I told myself, clicking on the 'accept' button.

From James' Facebook page I easily found the orchestra's page and saw that there were no more American tours listed in the near future. There were many photographs, including several of James standing with his arm around a beautiful young woman with curly blonde hair whom I could only assume was his twin sister, Mary. They bore a striking resemblance to one another. A photograph I liked considerably less was one in which James and a brunette stood together gazing into one another's eyes. _Maybe she's just a groupie, _I told myself, but was unable to banish the distinct feeling of unease I felt.

I didn't have long to dwell on it, however, as I soon found a list of former orchestra conductors that included James' father. My curiosity piqued, I clicked to the link on the biographical page, where I learned that Sir Alexander Vesey had been born in 1932, knighted in 1984, and died in 1992. He'd been married to Helena from 1957-1964, to Ruth from 1964-1986, and to Jordan Tennyson from 1987-1992. The article said that he'd left Helena for Ruth when their son Christopher had been a young boy, and that twenty-two years later, Ruth had suffocated to death when she'd been deliberately locked into an underground shelter which she'd been using as a photo developing lab by a mentally unbalanced family friend. I remembered what James had told me about his father's first wife having also been mentally unbalanced.

_So James' family really does have some skeletons in the closet, _I concluded. His father had certainly seemed to flit from woman to woman quite easily. Was James himself the same way?


	4. Thanksgiving

James didn't call me again for a long time after that. He rarely posted anything on Facebook except information about the orchestra, so I couldn't really communicate with him that way either. I thought about what Rose had said about him having a girl at every stop along the way and couldn't get that out of my mind. Was the reason he didn't seem to have much time to talk to me because he was too busy with his other girlfriends? Could I ever get up the nerve to ask him, and if I could, would it make him angry? Did I really want to know anyway?

I was too busy with school to worry about it very much anyway. Midterm exams were coming up, and Thanksgiving not too long after that. On Thanksgiving day, we got up early in the morning and made the forty-five-minute drive to my parents' house. It had snowed overnight, and the world looked magical covered by a blanket of white. It was so cold that I had to wear thermal underwear and a hat and scarf and gloves.

Mom and Dad were really happy to see us again. They hugged and kissed us and asked me how school was going.

"It's a lot harder than high school was," I told them. "I have to spend so much time studying that there's hardly any time for fun."

"So how many classical music concerts has Dimitri here dragged you to?" Dad asked me with a twinkle in his eyes. He knew how much my brother-in-law loved classical music.

His question made me think of James. "I actually haven't been to one since October," I told him.

"She met someone at that one," Rose said with a smile.

"Did you now?" Dad asked me.

"His name's James Vesey," I told him. "He isn't very tall, but he has blond hair and the dreamiest blue eyes. He plays the oboe, and he's from England. You ought to hear him talk!"

"So how many times have you been out with this James Vesey?" asked Dad.

"Actually only one," I admitted. "He took me out to Le Chateau before the orchestra left town."

"Le Chateau, huh? Pretty fancy!"

"It was great," I said. "The food was delicious, and we danced afterwards. It was the nicest date I've ever been on!"

"So have you heard from him since then?"

"He called me once, and we're in touch on Facebook."

"So you don't really know him all that well."

"Well...not yet, I guess, but I do really like him so far."

"Be careful, Lily. That's all I can say."

"Of course I will be!" I was finally an adult, a college student. Why was everyone suddenly acting so protective of me?

* * *

He called me several days later. I was so glad to hear from him that I'm sure my voice betrayed my enthusiasm.

"So how was your holiday?" he asked me.

"Pretty good," I told him. It was nice to see my parents again. That's the longest I've ever been separated from them. How have you been? I haven't seen much of you on Facebook lately."

"I haven't had much time for Facebook. Sorry." He laughed. "Say, Lily, how would you like to spend Christmas in England?"

"Oh, wow, that would be fantastic!" I hesitated. "But wouldn't that be pretty expensive?"

"Money's no object," he assured me.

"You mean you would pay for me to spend Christmas with you? Really?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"Wow! I...I don't quite know what to say."

"Just say you'll come. Mary and the others would love to meet you."

"So you told them about me?"

"Of course I did! Didn't you tell your family about me?"

"Of course!"

"And what did they say?"

"They were very impressed that you took me to Le Chateau for dinner."

He laughed. "Wait till I take you to some of the restaurants in London. Le Chateau will seem like a hot dog stand by comparison."

"Oh, I can't wait!" I squealed.

"Great. I'll let you know as soon as I've made the flight arrangements."

I was so happy I practically danced through the house to tell Rose the news. "I'm going to England for Christmas!"


	5. Arriving In England

At last the big day arrived. I packed everything I would need for a two-week stay, and Dimitri drove me to the airport. Even as excited as I was, I couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit frightened as well. _This is really it, _I told myself. _I really won't see Dimitri or Rose or any of my American friends or family for two whole weeks. _

Dimitri seemed hesitant about saying good-bye to me as well. "Well, this is it, I guess," he said nervously as my flight was called for boarding.

"Guess so," I said a bit shakily.

"Take care of yourself, Lily." He gave me an awkward hug. "We all love you, you know."

"I love you all too," I told him.

He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and was gone, and I joined the others who were boarding the airplane. There was a forty-five minute ride to a much larger airport, where I boarded a jet for the flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

The flight took about six hours. It was very late at night, but I was far too excited to sleep. There was an inflight movie playing but I wasn't interested in it. I read the romance novel I'd brought along and had almost finished it when the airplane started to land.

My heart pounded with excitement as I looked out the window at the thatched roofs of the houses far below. To me it seemed like a picture right out of a fairy tale. As I looked down on the airport's parking lot, I saw all the cars with the steering wheel on the right side instead of the left. _I'm going to see James again in just a few minutes, _I told myself. I took a compact mirror out of my purse just to check and make sure that my make-up looked all right.

As we entered the airport, I looked around at all the people waiting, and there he was! He saw me at the same time that I saw him and beamed. I made my way over to him as quickly as I could.

"James!"

"Lily!" He gave me a fierce hug. "How was your flight?"

"It was OK." It was still in the wee hours of the morning in Montana, but here in England, it was the middle of the day.

"Are you hungry?" James asked me.

"I'm all right." I was way too excited to eat.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine."

Purely out of habit I walked to the right side of his car. He burst out laughing, and I walked around to the other side.

I couldn't stop staring out the window as he drove along. Everything just looked so different from home. The landscape was a lot more hilly, and rather than the blankets of snow that covered the ground in Montana, snow lay in patches on the ground here.

"It must not snow very often here," I remarked.

"We get a lot more rain than snow," James told me. "You should see England in the summertime. The grass is so green, and the flowers are so lovely."

"I'll bet," I replied.

After what seemed a very short drive, we reached his apartment, which from the outside looked massive and luxurious. It was made of yellow stone, the roof was very high and triangular, and there were eight tall pillars in front. The main entrance was arched. James saw me gawking at it and laughed.

"It used to be a palace," he told me. "It was renovated and turned into an apartment building in the nineteen fifties."

The inside of the building was even more impressive than the outside. We entered into a stately looking area with tall windows, a sofa, and a chandelier. It was a short walk to James' first floor apartment, and he carried my suitcase, sitting it down briefly to unlock the door.

Once inside, I gazed about in wonder. The walls were white, and a large, ultra modern painting occupied a good portion of one wall. The sofa was grey, with purple, orange, and yellow pillows. It was bordered by two tables, one of which held a white lamp, and a love seat sat against the adjacent wall. A large black-and-white-striped coffee table sat in front of the sofa, and a very modern-looking orange chair sat at the opposite end of the coffee table from the love seat. Across from the sofa, a tall book case reached to the ceiling.

"Wow!" was all I could say.

"Do you like it?" asked James.

"I _love _it!" I exclaimed.

He carried my suitcase down the hallway, and I followed. The bedroom he led me to was small but cozy and very feminine-looking. The walls were also painted white, and the white bedspread had ruffles.

"This used to be Mary's bedroom," James explained. "She moved out when she and Ian got married a couple of years ago."

"So are you the only one of your brothers and sisters who isn't married yet?" I asked him.

"Yep." He grinned.

I noticed that on the small table beside the bed was a frame containing a photo of a smiling couple. The man looked to be in about his late fifties. He had blond hair and blue eyes just like James, and bore a startling resemblance to him. The woman was much younger and had wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes.

"My parents," James explained. "That photograph was taken a few months before they died."

"You look just like your father."

James chuckled. "That's what everyone tells me. They say I have his personality as well."

"I need to call my sister and let her know I got here OK."

"No problem."

He showed me where the telephone was and then left the bedroom. Forgetting about the time difference, I dialed Rose's number and got her answering machine, then suddenly remembered. _Of **course **she's still in bed, you dolt, _I chastised myself. "Hey girl, I just wanted to let you know I got here OK. Talk at ya later. Bye."

As I hung up, I yawned mightily. Suddenly the bed looked awfully inviting. I lay down on it and was asleep almost instantly.


	6. Meeting James' Family

Upon awakening, I was disoriented for just a moment before suddenly remembering where I was. The angle of the light flowing in through the window told me I'd been asleep for at least a couple of hours.

I heard voices coming from the living room and rose and made my way down the hall. I saw that James was sitting on the sofa, talking to an attractive blonde who strongly resembled him.

"Ah, Lily, you're up," he said when he saw me. "This is my sister, Mary. Mary, this is Lily, the American girl I told you about."

"Oh, right, of course! How do you do?" She smiled as she stood up and came to shake my hand.

"Hi," I said, a bit shyly.

"Your lunch is on the table, Lily," James told me. I realized that he'd probably eaten some time before and was suddenly famished. I ate the sandwich and potato chips with relish as James and Mary chatted in the living room.

"So, shall we take you round to meet the others?" Mary asked me when I'd finished eating.

"Boris won't be home for a couple of hours," James said. "I've a bit of shopping to do anyway. Lily, how would you like to see the inside of a British supermarket?"

"Oh, yes!" I exclaimed. I wondered whether or not Mary would accompany us to the supermarket. _I didn't realize it was gonna be a package deal, _I told myself, then instantly berated myself for complaining.

To my relief, Mary left soon afterwards, and James and I headed to the supermarket together. The supermarket he took me to was called Sainsbury's. Once inside, my eyes went round with wonder. Everything looked so different from any supermarket I'd ever been inside before. Not only were the brand names different, but there were also different products, and different flavors of the products I was familiar with.

"Ever had ginger beer before?" James asked me with a grin.

I shook my head.

"It's lovely," he told me, adding a couple of bottles to our shopping cart. He selected many other items, including Ribena currant juice, shrimp-flavored potato chips which he called crisps, and two different kinds of cookies that came in rolls. One was called McVities digestives and the other was called hobnobs. James called them biscuits, not cookies.

We'd returned to James' apartment and were in the middle of putting everything away when the telephone rang.

"That was Mary," James told me when he'd finished talking. "She and Ian will be round in about a half hour or so to run us over to meet everyone."

There were butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of meeting James' family. From what I'd seen so far, I gathered that they must be quite wealthy and high class. What would they think of a middle-class college student from Montana?

Ian turned out to be tall and slender with dark hair, not particularly handsome but very open and friendly. I immediately felt very comfortable with him.

Boris and Emily lived in a picturesque cottage with a thatched roof in the countryside. It wasn't very large, but it was cozy. Boris was tall, middle-aged, and partially bald. He looked to be a few years older than his wife. Emily was plump and maternal-looking with short salt-and-pepper hair.

"So you're Lily," she said as she gave me a warm hug. "James has told us so much about you."

"Good things, I hope."

She laughed. "Wonderful things. So you're in uni in Montana, are you? What are you taking there?"

"Just general classes for right now."

We all sat in the living room, and Emily served us lemonade which, to my surprise, was fizzy like a soft drink. "It isn't fizzy back home," I told Emily.

She laughed. "We have the non-fizzy drink as well. We call it lemon squash."

I soon met Boris and Emily's children, Alex and Ruth. Alex was twenty-one, and Ruth was eighteen. "They're named for my parents," Emily told me. I remembered the biographical information I'd looked up on the internet about James' father and felt a little bit guilty.

"Boris also has a daughter from his first marriage, but I've always thought of her as my own," Emily continued. "Her name's Olivia. She's married now, with a little girl of her own."

"That's nice," I said. "So, how did you two get together?"

"Boris was one of my instructors at uni," Emily told me. "I met him right before my mother...passed."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It was such a shock," Emily continued. "She was so happy. We children were just about grown, and she finally had time to focus on her career. If only she hadn't used that underground bunker as a photo developing lab!"

"It's all right, dear." Boris gave his wife a comforting hug. "At least she died doing what she loved, and now she's looking down on us all from above."

"I guess I'm lucky," I said. "I never lost anyone close before."

"It's your first day here," Emily replied. "Let's talk about something cheerful. Tell me about your family back home."

I told them all about my childhood, my parents, Rose and Dimitri. "How did your sister meet a Russian?" Emily asked me.

"He was one of her instructors at college...I mean university," I told her.

"Well, coincidences never end, do they?" She laughed. I knew right away that I was going to like her.

We stayed for dinner, and Emily talked to me in great detail about the rest of her family: her half brother, Kit, his wife Angela, and their daughters, Laura and Lavinia, her brother Leo and his wife Claire, and her sister Harriet and her husband Simon.

"You'll meet them all very soon," she promised.


	7. London

We ended up staying at Boris and Emily's until it was quite late, and by the end of the visit, I was really struggling to suppress my yawns.

"I think I need to take Lily home now," James said at last. "I'm sure she's suffering from jet lag."

"Oh, of course!" said Emily. "Thank you for coming round. It was lovely to meet you, Lily."

"Nice to meet you all as well," I said politely.

On the way back to James' apartment, I could hold in the yawn no longer.

He chuckled. "I really _did _keep you out too late, didn't I?"

"It's all right," I told him. "I enjoyed meeting your family. They all seem so nice."

He came around to my side of the car and opened the door for me. I was impressed and touched by how polite and chivalrous he was. No boy I'd ever dated in the United States had ever done that for me.

Once we were inside James' apartment, I checked to see if there was a message from Rose on the machine. There was. She said that she was happy to hear that I had arrived safely and that she hoped I was having a nice time. After that, I took a shower and then went straight to bed. James was still fully dressed and was in the living room playing the oboe.

"I hate to miss out on a free concert, but I really do need to get to bed," I told him.

He chuckled. "That's perfectly understandable. Sleep well, Lily." He came to me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

The following morning, I awakened to the sound of voices in the kitchen and realized to my dismay that Mary had returned. Hiding my annoyance, I went to the kitchen, where I saw a bowl of cereal and a cup of yogurt waiting for me on the table.

"Good morning," I said.

James and Mary looked up. "Good morning!" they said together.

"We thought we'd take you round London and show you some of the sights," Mary told me.

"What about Ian?" I asked.

"He's at work," she told me. I wondered what Ian would think of his wife gallivanting around London with her twin brother while he was at work, but of course I didn't ask.

After breakfast, I dressed quickly, and we were off. I sat in the front seat beside James, and Mary sat in the back. I'd been really worried about the sitting arrangements, afraid James would want his sister sitting beside him instead of me.

London was the busiest city I'd ever visited. The sidewalks were crowded with people, and the streets were filled with cars, trucks, and red double decker buses.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to ride in the top of one of those," I remarked.

"I'll make sure you have the chance to do that before you go back home," James promised me. He parked in a car park, and we took the subway, which James and Mary referred to as the 'tube', to Buckingham Palace. Never before had I felt more like a country hick, and I prayed that it didn't show.

Arriving at the royal family's residence, we joined the throngs of tourists milling about. James took my picture in front of the fence, and again standing beside a uniformed guard sitting on a horse.

After that, we saw Parliament and Big Ben, then Covent Gardens, where there were musicians and the most charming little museum with dozens of little wooden animated figurines. James and Mary were most interested in the musicians, of course, while I was more interested in the museum.

We had lunch at a McDonald's in Piccadilly Circus, then visited some of the shops. I didn't buy anything, as everything was far beyond my price range.

"I'm taking you to meet Kit and Angela this evening," James told me.

It turned out that Kit and Angela lived in an upscale apartment similar to James'. Kit had red hair and brown eyes. He walked with a limp, and his speech was slightly slurred. Angela was very pretty, with short, wavy black hair and blue eyes. Their daughter Laura, Laura's husband Craig, and their daughter Lavinia were there, and so was Ian.

"James tells us you're at uni," Angela said with a smile.

"I'm a freshman," I told her.

"I'm at uni too!" Lavinia exclaimed. "I graduate next term."

"That's cool," I said. "So are you a musician too?" I asked Kit.

He laughed. "Oh, no. I'm a barrister. I believe that in your country, the term is attorney or lawyer."

I nodded. I was curious about his limp and his speech impediment. I didn't have to wonder for very long.

"I'm so happy James has found someone," Angela commented. "I've always felt so terribly sad for him and his sister. Losing his father was hard enough on Kit, but at least he was an adult. For those babies to lose both their parents in such a tragic way was just so horrible. We would have taken them in ourselves if Kit had been physically able to at the time."

"I had to have an operation to remove a brain tumor twenty-two years ago," Kit explained. "I suffered complications from the surgery and was in a coma for a long time. My recovery was slow and very difficult."

"Gosh, that's terrible!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" _This family has certainly had more than its fair share of tragedy, _I told myself.

"It's all right." Kit grinned and embraced his wife. "The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for life and for my many blessings."

"I've been waiting for just the right time to tell you, and right now seems as good a time as any," Laura announced. "I'm pregnant!"

"Honey, that's wonderful!" Angela exclaimed. "We're going to be grandparents, Kit!" she said to her husband.

"I can't wait to tell everyone!" Laura continued. "I want to tell my grandmother too, Mum."

Suddenly everything went dead silent. The smiles vanished from Kit and Angela's faces. James turned slightly pale. Mary started to say something, but James glanced first at me and then at her and put his finger to his lips.


	8. Family Secrets

"I haven't even seen her in twenty-two years," Laura continued. "She has the right to know she's going to be a great grandmother."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Angela told her daughter.

"She's never done anything to hurt me or Lavinia," Laura argued. "She loves us."

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Angela insisted.

"I think we should change the subject," Kit said tersely. "Why don't you tell us about what life in Montana is like, Lily? None of us have ever been there."

"Well, for one thing, it's a lot colder in the wintertime there. There aren't a whole lot of big cities. There are a lot of farms and mountains and forests. Also some Indian reservations. It's very different from what I've seen of England so far."

I spent a couple of hours telling them about Montana, and later, about my parents and Rose and Dimitri. Kit and Angela and their daughters talked about various things that were going on in their lives. Laura's grandmother wasn't mentioned at all for the rest of the visit.

"Fancy that." James seemed mildly amused as he drove me back home. "I'm going to be a great uncle."

"That's right. You're Laura's uncle, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"And yet she can't be much younger than you."

"She's actually a couple of years older."

"But how could that be?" I was confused.

"Emily's Mum was still alive when she was born."

"Oh, so your Dad and Mom hadn't even met yet."

"Correct."

"Well, does she call you 'Uncle James'?"

He laughed. "Of course not!"

We'd reached the apartment, so James parked the car and we went in. "She said she hasn't seen her grandmother in twenty-two years," I remarked. I was dying to know what the mystery surrounding Laura's grandmother was but feared that it would offend James if I asked outright.

"She hasn't," James told me.

Disappointed, I got ready for bed and went to say goodnight to James before turning in. Instead of practicing oboe, this time he was speaking in low tones on the telephone, probably to Mary, I thought. He saw me and motioned for me to sit on the sofa, then quickly ended the telephone conversation and came and sat beside me.

"Laura's grandmother has been in an asylum for the criminally insane for the past twenty-two years," he told me.

I was shocked. "What did she do?"

"She tried to kill Kit. When he was in a coma after his operation, she unplugged his life support."

"But why would she try to kill her own son?"

"She was angry at him for lying to her. You see, after my father left her for Ruth, she forbid Kit from having any contact with his father at all. It was when Kit was recovering from surgery that she found out he'd been in touch with my Dad's second family all along, and that made her really mad."

"I can see her being mad about that, but actually wanting to _kill _him?"

"As I believe I told you before, my Dad's first wife was..._is..._very emotionally unbalanced. She wanted to have Kit all to herself, to not have to share him with anybody else."

"Boy, she must have really flipped out when he married Angela."

"She and Angela actually got along quite well at first. It was after Laura came along that things started to unravel."

"What do you mean?"

"That was about the time my Dad was knighted. There started to be more and more articles about him in the newspapers and magazines. She saw an interview with Ruth on telly one time and really went ballistic. She was enraged that it was Ruth, not her, who now had the title of Lady Vesey. It was right after that that Ruth was killed. George Batt was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison, but the family has always suspected that Helena was behind it."

"Who's George Batt?"

"Helena's cousin. He lived with her and did odd jobs for her as well as for my Dad's second family."

"So they never proved whether it was really him or Helena who killed Ruth?"

"There were witnesses who saw him locking the underground bunker from the outside, but Emily told me she's always believed that Helena put him up to it. He'd do anything she asked him to do. He was mildly retarded, and he was devoted to her."

"So why doesn't Emily do something to try to get him freed?"

"It's a bit late for that. He died of cancer four or five years ago."

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah." James smiled a bit nervously. "I hope I haven't frightened you away."

"Of course not. It isn't your fault if you have a nutcase in the family."

"She's been securely locked up for many years now, Lily. She'll never be able to hurt anyone again."

"I'm not afraid of her." Something occurred to me. "Do you think she might have had something to do with what happened to your parents?"

"Oh, no. That was thoroughly investigated and found to have been due solely to the weather conditions at the time of the crash, and besides, she'd already been locked up for a couple of years by then."

"That's good." I yawned. "Well, I guess I'm off to bed now."

"Are you sure you're all right, Lily?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

He embraced me and kissed my cheek again. I wondered whether he'd ever kiss me on the lips.


	9. Harrod's

I woke up earlier the next morning, but not as early as James. I walked into the kitchen to find him eating breakfast and drinking tea. "Good morning," he greeted me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." I'd actually had a very strange dream involving cellars and hospital machinery, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "Did you?"

"Not bad." The doorbell rang. "Ah, here she is." To my disappointment, Mary was here again. Would I ever have James all to myself?

I attempted to swallow my annoyance and be polite to her. "Hi, Mary."

"Hi, Lily," she said with a smile.

"Lily found it quite amusing that Laura's our niece, even though she's older than us," James told his sister.

"So did Ian, when I first told him," Mary replied.

"What kind of work does Ian do?" I asked her.

"He's a photographer," she told me.

"That's interesting," I said.

"Shall we be off, then?" asked James. He grinned at me. "Do you fancy shopping, Lily?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"I thought we'd take you to Harrod's Department Store today," Mary told me. "Have you ever heard of it?"

I frowned. "I don't think so."

James and Mary both laughed. "You mean you've never heard of _Harrod's?" _asked Mary.

"Well, no. Why should I have?" I was beginning to feel just a little angry.

"You're in for a real treat!" Mary told me.

We went outside to James' car and were soon off. I had to admit that I was very impressed with Harrod's Department Store once we arrived. It occupied an entire street corner and was six stories high.

Once we were inside, James headed for the electronics department while Mary steered me toward the women's clothing and jewelry. We quite enjoyed ourselves for several hours, visiting various of the store's many departments. Everything was far too expensive to buy, of course, but it was still fun to look. Mary and James, in contrast, bought a number of items each. I tried on a dark purple sequined dress that James said he wanted to see what I looked like in.

"Do you like it?" he asked me.

"I love it!" I said truthfully.

"I'll buy it for you, then," he offered.

I was too shocked to say anything at all as he bought, not only the dress, but matching heels and a purse as well. "Now you're ready for the London night life." He winked at me.

We had lunch at a restaurant called Harrod's Terrace. It was large and elegant, with floor-length arched windows, white table-cloth-draped tables, and very comfortable genuine leather chairs. Chandeliers hung from the roof. We had dainty little sandwiches, with hot tea and scones.

After lunch, we stopped at a charming little cottage on the way back to James' apartment. "I thought I'd introduce you to Olivia," James told me. "She lives here with her husband Colin and their daughter, Lucy."

"Is Olivia your cousin or your niece?" I was genuinely confused by the complicated dynamics of James' family.

"She's Boris' daughter by his first wife, so she isn't really biologically related to me, but I've always thought of her as family," he told me.

Olivia was slender, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile with dimples. "It's lovely to meet you at last," she said as she shook my hand. "I've heard ever so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," I told her. "Your little girl is adorable! How old is she?"

"She just turned three. Can you say hello to the nice lady, Lucy?"

The little girl peered at me shyly from behind her mother's legs. "You talk funny," she told me.

"Now, Lucy, that's not a nice thing to say at all!" Olivia scolded.

"It's all right," I said. "I'm sure I _do_ sound funny, to her."

"Shall we go and sit in the garden?" Olivia suggested. Her back yard was small but lovely. A stone walkway divided a flower bed from an open area that was surrounded by a tree and several bushes. We sat at a picnic table drinking tea and watching Lucy frolic.

"Lovely news about Craig and Laura, isn't it?" Olivia remarked.

"Kit and Angela will make lovely grandparents," Mary replied.

"I just talked with her on the telephone last night," Olivia continued. "She's so excited. They all are."

We stayed and visited for a couple of hours, and then Olivia said that she wanted a photograph of James and me together. She went back to the house for her camera and returned a moment later, then glanced around with a worried look in her eyes.

"Where's Lucy?" she asked. The little girl was nowhere to be found.


	10. Shocking New Information

Just then Lucy emerged from behind a bush, smiling and holding a handful of red berries out to her mother. "Look at the pretty berries I found, Mummy!"

Olivia panicked immediately. "Oh no, love, those are poisonous! Did you already eat one?"

Lucy nodded.

"Then we must go to hospital straight away!" She snatched her daughter up and hurried to the car with her as James, Mary and I also prepared to leave, having no other choice.

We returned to James' apartment to find that there was a message from Rose on the answering machine. I called her back right away.

"I didn't leave it in the message because I wanted to tell you in person," she told me. "I'm pregnant!"

"Wow, that's great!" I exclaimed. "When are you due?"

"August. Dimitri and I are thrilled!"

"So am I! It'll be great to have a niece or nephew, and guess what? James' niece Laura is pregnant too!"

"James has a niece old enough to be pregnant?" She sounded skeptical.

"His Dad was married three times. He has a half brother who's almost thirty years older than him."

Rose and I talked for about thirty minutes, and when I got off the telephone, James and Mary were gone. I saw that James had left a note for me.

Lily,

Mary and I have been called to an emergency meeting of the orchestra. We shall return within a couple of hours, hopefully. There's plenty of food in both the cupboard and the fridge if you get hungry. Please help yourself to whatever you want.

James

xx

I wondered why he hadn't signed the note 'love, James' but had added the kiss symbols at the bottom. _Maybe he's just shy, _I thought.

Curiosity led me to explore the apartment more closely, but I didn't really find anything of interest. I glanced at the closed door of James' bedroom several times, knowing that I really shouldn't snoop in there, until finally I just couldn't stand it anymore and went into the bedroom.

It was neat as a pin, just like my own was. Photographs, mostly of family members, covered the top of the dresser. Unsure of what I was looking for, I opened the top dresser drawer to see several unopened packages of condoms. Suddenly feeling very guilty, I slammed the drawer shut and was headed back to my own bedroom when I heard the telephone ringing again.

"Hi, Lily. It's Emily," said the voice on the other end of the line. "Is James there?"

"He and Mary were called away to an emergency meeting of the orchestra," I replied. "Can I take a message?"

"Oh, no, that's all right. I just had a quick question for him, but it can wait until I see him again. Have you enjoyed yourself today?"

"It's been fun. We went to Harrod's this morning, and then to visit Olivia and Lucy after lunch."

"Oh, so you've met them now! That's great! How did your visit go?"

"Lucy got into some poisonous berries and Olivia had to rush her to the hospital."

"Oh dear, the poor thing! I love her just like a granddaughter, you know. I'll be absolutely devastated if anything happens to her! And poor Olivia! I know this must be simply horrid for her, especially considering what happened to her when she was just a little girl herself."

"What happened?" I was dying to know.

"Oh dear, I suppose I've said too much." She sounded fretful. "But I suppose there's no going back now. If I tell you, will you swear not to say a word to James or Mary?"

"I swear."

"Very well, then. When Olivia was a little girl, not too long after her father and I got together, she took a bite from a poisoned cookie and went into convulsions and almost died, but the cookie wasn't meant for her. It was meant for James and Mary."

I gasped, shocked. "But why would anyone have wanted to kill James and Mary?"

Emily sighed. "Helena was furious when she found out that my father had remarried and had more children after my mother's death. She learned from a magazine article that James and Mary loved marzipan, so she made marzipan cookies and laced them with poison and gave them to Laura and Lavinia to give to James and Mary when they visited them. Olivia was naughty and stole one of the cookies. She hid in the garden to eat it, and that was where we found her, having convulsions. If we hadn't called the ambulance right when we did..."

I couldn't believe my ears. I could see Helena being jealous and wanting to get rid of a romantic rival, but to want to kill innocent children was just too much to believe! I shuddered, glad that the madwoman was now securely locked up.

"Please, Lily, not a word of this to James or Mary!" Emily continued. "I don't think they could handle knowing that Helena had actually tried to kill them when they were small."

"Oh, I won't!" I promised her. Just then I heard James unlocking the door and entering the apartment. How would I keep this shocking new information from him?


	11. Rose And Dimitri Arrive

"Actually he just got here," I told Emily. "Do you want me to put him on?"

"Oh yes, please!"

I noticed that James was carrying several packages from which a pungent aroma wafted. "Phone for you," I told him. "It's Emily."

"Thank you." He took the receiver from me, and I went into my bedroom so that he'd have some privacy. He came to find me a few minutes later. "Have you eaten?"

I shook my head. I hadn't even been hungry.

"I brought Indian." He nodded to the packages, which he'd sat on the table and opened. "Have you ever had curry before?"

"What's that?"

He laughed. "I didn't think so. Indian food isn't terribly popular in the states, is it?"

I tasted the curry. It was tasty but also quite spicy, more so than I was accustomed to. I had to take a long drink after my first bite.

James laughed again. "You'll get used to it."

"So, how did the orchestra meeting go?" I asked as we were eating.

"Quite well, actually," he replied. "There's going to be a special concert on Christmas Eve. Some of my family from the states might come."

"My brother-in-law loves classical music!" I exclaimed. "I'll invite him as well."

I waited until midnight to call Dimitri and Rose, knowing that they'd be home from work by then. "Hey, Sis!" Rose said when she heard my voice. "How's it going?"

"Great! Listen, James just told me there's gonna be a special concert Christmas Eve. I thought maybe you guys could come." Although I'd only been gone for about a week, I already missed them.

"I'll ask Dimitri. I'm sure he'd love to go," she replied.

* * *

For several days I spent a lot of time in James' apartment alone, as he was busy rehearsing for the special concert. I became very familiar with all the British daytime television shows, and when I got bored, I began to venture outside the apartment, going for walks just around the block at first, then eventually to the park or little shops that were nearby. On one such occasion, I was walking through the park when I noticed that a very old woman of about eighty was watching me. Her long, straggly white hair fell about her shoulders, her face was wizened, and she had dull blue eyes that seemed to perk up in surprise when she saw me. Something about her gave me the creeps, and I hurried back to the apartment as quickly as I could.

On the day Dimitri and Rose flew in, James took me to the airport to meet them. Rose hugged me first, then Dimitri. "How are you enjoying England so far?" my sister asked me.

"Oh Rose, it's like magic!" I exclaimed. I told her all about seeing Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, Covent Garden, Harrod's, and meeting James' family. I didn't mention Helena Vesey.

"Sounds like you've really been having a ball," Rose said.

"So how's your pregnancy going so far?" I asked her.

"It's going all right. I get kind of queasy in the mornings, but other than that, I'm mostly OK, as long as I stay away from spicy or greasy food."

The following day we made another trip to the airport, this time to meet James' uncle, who was flying in from Texas. Mary went with us this time. James' uncle turned out to be a burly man of about fifty with brown hair and eyes and a friendly smile. He was wearing a ten-gallon hat with jeans and a red-and-white checkered shirt.

"You look more like Jordan every time I see you," he told Mary as he embraced her.

"This is my friend Lily Hathaway from Montana," James told his uncle. "Lily, this is my uncle, Justin Tennyson."

"Howdy!" Uncle Justin grinned as he shook my hand.

"Yours is the first American accent I've heard in over a week!" I told him.

"Montana, huh?" he asked. "So how did you two get together?"

"I met up with him after a concert," I told him.

"Sounds like somethin' Jordan would have done," he said. "She was always such a dreamer, always moonin' over those English dandies. That's why she went into overseas journalism, covering concerts and parties and events and stuff like that. Got into hobnobbing with the rich and famous. That's how her and Vesey ended up together, although I can't complain, since they were happy in the brief time they had together."

I glanced at James, wondering what he thought about his father being referred to as a 'dandy.' He seemed to have paid no mind to his uncle's remark, but it got me to wondering about something.

"What does it mean to be knighted?" I asked James later.

"It's one of the highest honors a man in my country can achieve," he told me. "It's awarded for exceptional service that makes a significant contribution to the country. It took my father many years to be nominated, and it looks like my brother Leo's well on his way to being nominated himself." He chuckled. "Needless to say, I've still got a long way to go."

"Wow," was all I could say. "Can a woman be knighted as well?" I asked, thinking of Mary.

"Yes, but she would become a dame rather than a knight." He smiled. "I believe that, in addition, you'd also have to become a naturalized citizen."

"Oh, I wasn't asking for myself," I said quickly. "I was just wondering, that's all."

I spoke to Rose later in the day. "Well, you and I aren't the only Americans here anymore," I told her. "James' Uncle Justin just flew in from Texas."

"He has family in Texas?" She sounded surprised.

"His Mom was American," I explained.

The Christmas Eve concert was a few nights later. I went with Dimitri and Rose, and introduced them to the rest of James' family when we arrived at the concert hall. I couldn't wait to watch him play oboe again.


	12. James' Confession

In the purple sequined dress James had bought me at Harrod's, I felt dressed for the occasion amidst all the obviously well-to-do concert attendees. When the curtains opened, my eyes searched for him. He saw me and gave me a brilliant smile. To me he looked even more handsome than he had at the first concert I'd seen him perform in.

As I watched my blond musician play his oboe, I thought about how things had gone since I'd arrived in England. The days had seemed to fly past fairly swiftly, and despite the almost constant presence of Mary, I'd truly enjoyed being with James. The only thing I'd really started to wonder about was the fact that he'd never even so much as tried to kiss me. I knew that he was shy, but even so, I thought we'd known one another long enough for him to lose at least some of his reserve.

Could it be that he'd decided that he wasn't really attracted to me, after all? Yet he was always so attentive in every way, constantly concerned that I was comfortable and enjoying myself. He never seemed remotely interested in other women when we were out in public.

It just didn't make sense to me.

The concert was a huge success, just as I'd known it would be, and as the performers left the stage, I joined the throng of friends and family members waiting to congratulate the performers. As James emerged, he hugged first Laura and Lavinia, who were standing slightly closer to the exit than I was, and then me. "Meet me in the foyer in fifteen minutes," he whispered in my ear.

Excited but a bit puzzled, I headed for the foyer. He showed up about twenty minutes later. His clothing was ruffled, his hair askew, lipstick smudges on his face. "Sorry I'm a bit late." He gave a sharp laugh. "It took me awhile to get away from them all." He gave me an appraising glance up and down, then let out a low whistle. "Whoa! You're utterly smashing in that dress."

"I"m glad you like it," I replied, feeling strangely relieved.

He took me dancing at one of London's trendiest clubs, complete with strobe lights and electronic music with a pulsing beat. I saw all kinds of strange people in eccentric clothing and way-out hairdos. He ordered me a pale green, fizzy drink. I asked what it was called, and he told me, but it was something I'd never heard of. I took a couple of sips. It tasted like grapefruit juice mixed with ginger ale.

"This place isn't really me," he told me after awhile. "I don't really fancy it at all. Come on. Let's go someplace else."

He drove for what had to be at least a couple of hours. When we finally stopped, it was at a place that seemed far out in the country. I looked at my watch and saw that it was nearly four in the morning.

He took my hand and we began to walk, and I soon realized that we were in a lovely garden. Plants of all different kinds lined the stone walkway which we trod, and there were various stone structures, statues of animals, bridges, fountains, topiaries, and even a courtyard. In the distance I saw what I assumed to be a castle.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This is the Peto Gardens," James told me. "That," he nodded toward the castle-like structure, "is Iford manor. It isn't as well-known as Stonehenge, but I've always found it to be more interesting, and I wanted to share it with you."

"Well, I'm glad you did." The sun was just beginning to rise, spreading its pink and purple rays over the scenery and giving it an almost surreal appearance. "It looks like we came at just the right time, too!"

"There's something I need to talk to you about, Lily." James was suddenly very serious. "And I hope you understand. You see, all my life it's been just me and Mary. We were so young when we lost our parents, and all our brothers and sisters are so much older than us, but we've always been there for each other. We've always done everything forever. When she got serious with Ian, I was so jealous at first."

My jaw dropped. "You mean..."

"Oh, no, there was never anything sexual about our relationship at all," he said quickly. "Heavens, no! But I still felt like I'd lost her, in a way. It took me a long time to realize that the love she felt for Ian was so completely different from the bond we'd always shared that there was no need for me to feel threatened at all. He and I are good friends now."

"That's good." I didn't know what else to say.

"There's something else, Lily." He looked terribly uncomfortable. "I've never had a serious girlfriend, and I've never...ah, been with a woman. I'm sure you know what I mean."

I gasped, shocked. _"Never?"_

"Never."

So my incredibly sexy, sophisticated, worldly-wise oboist was still a virgin? It was too much to believe!

"I hope I haven't put you off." He sounded terribly nervous. "I just thought you should know."

"But...why?" I asked. "I mean, you're so good looking, intelligent, kind...it seems to me that you'd really have to fight the girls off!"

He chuckled. "You're very flattering. For some reason, I've just never really been terribly interested in dating. I don't know if it was that I've always been so focused on my career, or if it was more because of how close Mary and I have always been, but eventually it got to the point that I realized that there was something missing in my life, and when I first laid eyes on you, I finally realized what it was." He put his arms around me and kissed me for the very first time. His lips were warm and soft, and our noses touched slightly. I felt his hand lightly caress my hair. "Please say you'll stay after the holidays are over."


	13. Happy Christmas

I gasped. "But what about school?"

"There are universities right here in England, Lily, and I'd imagine they're just as good, if not even better, than the one you attend in Montana. You can go along with Alex and Ruth. I'm sure they'd love to have you as a classmate."

"But what if the credits don't transfer?"

"Don't worry. They'll transfer." He smiled gently. "They'll have to, because I don't think I'm going to be able to give you up."

I yawned mightily. He took my hand and led me back to the car, where he laid down in the back seat, hugging me to himself. I settled my head comfortably against his shoulder and was soon fast asleep.

The sun shining through the car's windows awakened us both at about the same time. His clothing scratched my cheek as I looked up at him. "You're a dandy, all right," I teased him. "Who else would go to sleep still wearing a tie?"

"Look who's talking," he replied without missing a beat. I looked down at my purple sequined dress from Harrod's.

"I didn't have much choice," I pointed out. "It was too cold to take it off."

He blushed deeply, and we both laughed. Knowing that our families would be worried about us, he drove us back home right away.

Rose lit into him first. "Just what the hell did you think you were doing, taking an innocent eighteen-year-old girl out in the middle of nowhere to spend the night? And you..." She turned to me. "Allowing your honor to be compromised like this!"

"I swear to you, I never touched her honor." James blinked nervously. "It's still every bit as intact as it was when I first met her."

Emily took what had happened much better. "I'm just so happy you're both all right," she said. "We were so afraid something had happened!" She and James exchanged a meaningful glance, one I wasn't privy to.

"Come on," he said quietly, taking my hand. "I still have my present to give you."

"Oh, that's right!" In all the excitement, I'd completely forgotten what day it was.

Back at his apartment, he disappeared into his bedroom and returned a few seconds later carrying a small box. "Happy Christmas, Lily." His hand shook a little as he handed it to me.

I opened it and squealed with delight. Inside was a pair of 14-carat gold earrings shaped like oboes, and a matching necklace with a tiny gold oboe. I looked at James, who smiled hopefully back at me. "I hope you like them."

_"Like _them? I _love _them!" I hugged him tightly around the neck. _"Thank you!"_

He chuckled. "You're quite welcome!"

"I'm afraid my gift to you isn't nearly as nice," I said apologetically.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that," he replied.

I fetched it from my bedroom and brought it to him. "Mer...happy Christmas, James."

I'd bought him a clock that had musical notes instead of numbers on its face. I held my breath as he stared at it for just a moment, then grinned widely. "What a unique idea!" He sat it down and hugged me tightly. "Thank you ever so much, Lily. I'll always treasure it."

Dinner was at Emily's, of course. I tried figgy pudding for the first time and found out that I loved it, and later, James and I cuddled on the sofa beside the fireplace at his apartment. Mary and Ian came over as well, of course, but I was in such a good mood that I didn't even mind. We drank a drink similar to hot apple cider that James called a 'wassail' as he regaled me with tales of his childhood.

"We always left out mince pies and brandy for Father Christmas," he told me. "Mary and I would always try to stay awake to meet him, but we never could. One year Emily found us both fast asleep on the sofa. We'd gotten hungry and eaten the mince pies. I took one sip of the brandy, even though I knew we weren't supposed to. It burned all the way down, and Mary laughed at the face I made."

"I remember that," said Mary.

"We call him Santa Claus and leave milk and cookies for him," I told them.

"I know," said James. "I probably watched the same holiday specials you did." We all laughed.

Ian and Mary ended up staying until very late. We saw them to the door, and after they'd left, James embraced me. "This is the happiest Christmas I've ever had," he told me. "And it's all because of you, Lily. Thank you ever so much for sharing it with me." He kissed my forehead and we went to our separate bedrooms.

The next morning, which James said was 'boxing day', Laura, Lavinia, and Mary came around, all excited about some sale they'd found out about. They invited me to come along with them, but I felt guilty about the idea of leaving James alone.

"Go on ahead," he urged me. "I don't mind at all. I don't fancy shopping on boxing day, anyway. The stores are all much too crowded."

"Men!" Laura teased, and Lavinia giggled. A half hour later, we were all busily absorbed with finding good deals at the department store.

"Why didn't you invite Olivia along too?" Lavinia asked her sister. "I'm sure she would have loved to come!"

A shadow fell across Laura's face. "I'm sure she's busy with Lucy," she said quietly. "Besides, I...just couldn't."

"Oh, Laura." Lavinia embraced her sister. "You know she's forgiven us many times over, and she realizes that it wasn't our fault anyway."

"Even so..." Laura's eyes filled with tears.

"Come on," said Lavinia. "Let's look in the maternity department. Maybe you can find something nice for the baby." Laura brightened instantly.

"What in the world were they talking about?" I asked Mary after they'd left.

She shrugged. "I haven't the slightest." I could tell she was lying, but I didn't say anything.


	14. Kidnapped

James was gone when I returned to the apartment. I saw that he'd left me a note. 'Gone with Uncle Justin to show him the countryside. Back in a few hours.'

I turned on the television to await his return, but after an hour or so, I got bored and went for a walk. Somehow I ended up at the same park I'd visited before. I gasped in surprise at the sight of the same old woman who'd been there the first time. She was watching me intently, and when she saw that I was looking at her, she approached me.

"Say, miss," she said. Her voice sounded very weak and frail. Instantly I felt a bit sorry for her. "Could you please help me? You see, my little doggy has somehow gotten herself wedged between the fridge and the wall where I can't reach her, and I'm not strong enough to move the fridge to reach her, but perhaps the two of us together could move it enough. Won't you please help?"

My concern for the dog temporarily replacing my ordinary sense of caution, I obediently followed the woman back to her apartment, which was only a block or two away. She stumbled a couple of times and almost fell, and I had to help steady her.

"Thank you ever so much, luv," she said. "I just can't get around like I could when I was younger. I do appreciate this, and so will my little one. She's one of those mixes, you know, a Yorkie and a Maltese. A wee little thing she is, but ever so active!"

"Well, here we are, luv," she said, turning the key in the lock. I gasped in surprise at the sight of the interior of her apartment. It was almost completely bare, and spotless. My eyes fell on the refrigerator, and I saw that there was obviously no dog trapped between it and the wall. I turned fear-filled eyes to the elderly woman, who had instantly changed.

No more appearing weak and frail, she stood straight and tall, her venomous eyes shooting darts at me. I saw that she now held a razor-sharp knife in one hand.

"I know who you are," she spat. "I've been watching you every day for weeks now. You're the youngest Vesey bastard's girlfriend!"

"James isn't a bastard!" I cried.

"Except for my Kit, all the Vesey children are bastards," she said viciously. "First there was that tart with the camera who spread her legs and took my husband, and then once she was gone, there was the American whore and her twin brats. But I'm the true Lady Vesey. No one else but me." She held the knife to my chest. "Say it! I'm the true Lady Vesey!"

"You're the true Lady Vesey." My mouth was so dry I could hardly move my tongue to say the words.

"Twenty-two years!" She shoved her face close to mine, and I felt my spine turn to jelly. "For twenty-two years I languished in that loony bin! Do you have any idea what it's like to be surrounded by nothing but crazy people for twenty-two years?"

"N-no," I stammered.

"It's utter hell!" She was practically shouting. "For years I saw doctor after doctor, but none of them would believe me. They all wanted to go way back into my childhood, to find out what made me so 'psychopathic.' That's right! They actually called me, Lady Helena Vesey, 'psychopathic'! How ludicrous!" She gave a cruel laugh. "I never told them about Maureen, or course. Who would have? No matter. She deserved what she got, lying to me about going to the dentist when she really went to another girl's party. A party _I _hadn't been invited to." Her eyes narrowed. "Disloyalty, treachery, is the worst of crimes, and deserves the severest punishment."

"But _I _haven't been disloyal to anyone!" I had to swallow a lump in my throat to keep from crying. "Can't I please just go back home?"

"Not while I have a purpose for you," she replied. "You see, my Kit betrayed me in the most horrible way. In spite of how his father had hurt me, he remained in contact with him and his whore and all his bastards, and what's more, he _lied _to me about it over all those years. _Lied _to me! His own mother, the woman who gave him life!"

She took a menacing step in my direction. Pinned against the wall, I couldn't move.

"Yet out of the kindness of my heart, I'm willing to forgive him, on the condition that he break off all ties with all the Vesey bastards. And do you know how I'm going to make sure that happens?"

I shook my head vigorously.

"Why, I'll simply trade you for my son. When the young Vesey bastard brings my Kit to me, then he can have you back. It's as simple as that. But in the meantime, I'll have to put you somewhere safe and secure, as I can't have the risk of your running away. I'm sure you understand." With the knife pressed to my back, she forced me to walk down a short hallway to a door that opened onto a tiny, dark closet. Roughly she shoved me into it and then slammed the door shut. For a woman of about eighty, she was amazingly strong. I heard the door lock on the outside and knew that I was trapped.

Terrified and barely able to breathe, I forced myself to think calming thoughts. Yet as what seemed like hours dragged by with no sign of release, I thought of all my loved ones and wondered whether I'd ever see any of them again. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of my parents, of Rose and Dimitri, of my niece or nephew whom I might never meet, of my home in Montana. Was I destined to die all alone and afraid in a foreign country thousands of miles away?

After what seemed like forever, I felt a rush of cool air as Helena yanked the closet door open and pulled me out. "They're here," she told me shortly. Her fingers dug into my arm as she pulled me back down the short hallway, where I saw James with Mary, Ian, Laura, and Lavinia behind him.

"Let her go, Helena," James said calmly.

She grabbed me from behind, holding the blade of the knife to my throat. "Where's Kit?" she demanded.

"Let her go!" James said fiercely, taking a step in our direction.

"Not until you bring my Kit to me." I felt the sharp pain of the knife's tip digging into my skin followed by the warm trickle of blood flowing down. "Bring him to me now, or she dies!"

I heard the sound of the gunshot and felt Helena slump lifelessly to the ground behind me.


End file.
